Gross weight limit on cane trucks ill-conceived, says Kumar

Felix Chaudhary

12 July, 2019, 6:14 am

Cane trucks lined up at the Lautoka Mill. Picture: FT FILE

THE Lautoka Mill Lorry Association says the imposition of a 16.5tonne gross weight limit on cane trucks was ill-conceived because of the impact fines for overloading would have on drivers and also on cane logistics.

“By limiting the grow weight to 16.5tonnes, lorries are only able to carry up to nine tonnes per trip to the mill whereas before they would carry up to,” said association president Ashwin Kumar.

“What this effectively means is that crushing would have to be extended to January or even February to ensure all cane is delivered to mills for processing.

“And this is when the rainy season starts, so we can expect all kinds of problems when this happens because lorries will get bogged down in the fields.”

During a press conference in Lautoka yesterday, Fiji Sugar Corporation CEO Graham Clark said there would be no need to extend the 2019 crushing season despite the new weight restrictions.

“The answer is we will have to crush more lorry loads every day to keep up,” he said.